Millions of pounds earned by more than 3,000 freelancers working for the BBC, who channel their income through personal service companies, do not have income tax and national insurance contributions deducted at source.

At least 41 BBC freelancers paid £100,000 or more in 2011 did not pay tax at source, with five of these earning more than £150,000 per year. In addition, 318 people earning more than £50,000 were also shown as having not paid tax at source in that year, the BBC has admitted in its response to a freedom of information request by David Mowat, the Conservative MP for Warrington South.

The BBC would not name the employees but they do not include any of the BBC's on-screen talent and presenters, many of whom are also thought to be paid through support companies.

Most of the freelancers included in the FOI figures are programme-makers – including directors and camera operators – technical and support staff, according to the BBC, meaning that the number of people working for the corporation "off payroll" is higher.

Mowat told MediaGuardian: "There is no evidence that anything illegal went on of course but it does leave a bad taste. Tax is of course like that, and it is complicated. But one would hope that people working with public money should be paying tax at source, especially when the sums are so large.

"But it seems the BBC think they are above this – they would not even reveal which of their on screen talent use this system of using personal service companies. It seems unfair really – unfair on people like you and me who pay their tax at source in the usual way."

Of the 12,000 employees on freelance contracts whom the BBC said are employed on average each year, more than 3,000 people were also paid through personal service companies. This means that they too do not pay tax at source, in a system regarded by some campaigners as a means of minimising tax contributions.

Most of the other 9,000 people work to standard freelance contracts and are also paid without national insurance and tax deducted under existing agreements between the industry and HM Revenue and Customs, called the modus operandi. Under the agreement, most staff working in short-term roles do not pay tax and NI at source.

However, this figure of 3,000 freelancers who use personal service companies also does not include the so-called talent employees, such as presenters and reporters or staff working for BBC Worldwide, because they are exempt from the FOI Act.

Mowat said he submitted the FOI because of his outrage at the case of Ed Lester, the chief executive of the Student Loans Company, who was revealed to have been paid through his personal service company.

Chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander has ordered a review into civil servants' contracts after reports by the investigative news website Exaro, in conjunction with BBC2's Newsnight, revealed Lester's arrangement under terms granted by the HMRC.

Exaro, which has been at the forefront of reports on the subject , reported last month that Alexander wanted to extend the review to health authorities, local government and the BBC. However, under the terms of the BBC's charter it is unlikely that ministers would be able to order the corporation to review its contracts.

Measures to combat the use of personal service companies to reduce tax payments were announced in chancellor George Osborne's budget on Wednesday.

The BBC's FOI response pointed out that it employs around 20,000 people who pay tax at source. It added that only 1,363 of its 12,000 freelancers earn above £26,000, suggesting that many of them were likely to work for organisations other than the BBC.

A BBC spokesman added: "These individuals are not permanent members of BBC staff so do not have their tax deducted at source in the way a the vast majority of employees do. In the main they are hired to do specific jobs for a fixed period of time such as directing, editing and other craft skills.

"When a person is contracted in this way it is their responsibility to organise their tax arrangements directly with the HMRC. This is entirely in keeping with HMRC regulations and is standard practice across broadcasting and many other industries."

The BBC has been sensitive to the tax status of its staff since the so-called "Armanigate" scandal in 1993, when it was revealed that then director general John Birt was actually employed on a freelance basis, through his own company, John Birt Productions.

It was alleged that this substantially reduced Birt's tax bill because he could claim personal expenditure, such as his Armani suits, against tax.

More recently the BBC has faced sustained criticism for the amounts paid to executives and talent, with Jonathan Ross's £5.6m-per-year deal a particular focus of discontent.

However, Ross left the BBC in mid 2010 and in the past couple of years the corporation has committed to reducing the salaries of on-screen and off-screen talent.

In July last year, the BBC published the different talent salary levels across the corporation broken down into eight separate bands of pay.

Published in the BBC annual report it revealed that 19 stars earned between £500,000 and £5m in 2010-11 – down from 21 the year before.

The BBC also revealed that 274 presenters earned more than £100,000 over the 2010-11 financial year, up from 270 in the previous 12 months.

Last year the BBC exceeded its target of reducing the pay of top managers by 25% following the departure of executives including Mark Byford, the deputy general, and marketing director Sharon Baylay.

FOI Figures

Number of individuals who do not pay tax and NI at source on income from the BBC, receiving:

more than £26,000: 1363

more than £50,000: 318

more than £100,000: 36

more than £150,000: 5

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